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Thursday, June 14, 2012

SDCC 2012 Exclusives are Amazing!

It's June, so of course means that SDCC, San Diego Comic Con (for the few hypothetical people that don't know what that means) is approaching fast. As with any other convention, only multiplied ten-fold, it brings us, amongst other things, comics, video games, great costumes, and tons of people who share our interests. And yes even movies, television shows, and their stars (blah blah blah). Can you sense my enthusiasm there? I’ve wanted to go for years even though it seems as if the comic presence isn’t given the love it once was. In 2011, I was able to make the trek and I had a ball. Well for the most part anyway.

Of the many aspects that attract people to the show, the toys definitely stand out. The exclusives debuting at SDCC pull in the collectors as well as the career eBayers. Do a search on eBay and you’ll see what I mean. Some of the prices people set these toys at are ridiculous. But I digress. I am quite the toy collector and Hasbro has gotten a nice amount of my dollars over the years. At last year’s show I picked up a few of Hasbro’s goodies including two G.I. Joe Zarana figures, one for me and the other for someone on hisstank.com as well as a Marvel Universe Sentinel (in its’ classic colors). The latter of which made my top toys of 2011 which you can view right here.

Hasbro's had some great exclusives over the years and this year will be no different. They'll have figures from each of the three current lines I collect: G.I. Joe, Marvel Legends, and Marvel Universe. But wait, there's more. Not to be outdone, NECA Toys, will be rolling out a ton of toys for the con. This of course includes my beloved Gears of War. Well it's actually Gears of War 3 at this point. So let's take a look at the figures I would quickly adopt.

I'll kick it off with some G.I. Joe action. Have you ever been jinxed twice? Well you will be. Jinx, who's set to show up in this year's next year's G.I. Joe: Retaliation movie, gets two figures. Both which come on 25th Anniversary styled cardbacks as opposed to the hideous Retaliation packaging. Thank you for not making that mistake Hasbro.

I can't remember which of these is the variant. And I wouldn't know which to open as either could fit in my Joeverse. I might even be tempted to pick up extras to keep moc as I should have done with Zarana in 2011.

Making their return to shelves earlier this year, Marvel Legends made an appearance at the 2011 show and brought with them an exclusive Thor figure wrapped in a Mjolnir designed package. I waited for the retail release though. For San Diego, Hasbro is hitting fans of the line with an Uncanny X-Force 3-pack featuring Archangel, Psylocke and Wolverine. I haven't seen the back of the box, but the front does feature art from Clayton Crain. This set will go great with the Fantomex sitting here. And apparently we're getting a Deadpool soon. That'd be a nice set to have sitting on the bookshelf.

First, just look at Archangel's wings. I have this great appreciation for winged characters. There's just so much design-wise that can be done with them and it's always nice to see each artists' interpretation of someone's, especially Warren's, wings. Hasbro should make this pack in their standard colors. It would be great to have Archangel in his blue and purple costume.

Next up is a set from the Marvel Universe line, which is definitely my favorite line out of these. Here is a Masters of Evil 3-pack featuring Baron Zemo, Radioactive Man, and Tiger Shark. I'm not big fans of the characters, but I definitely appreciate them and I want more villains in my collection. And look at Radioactive Man, who doesn't love a translucent figure? Oh you don't? Well I don't believe it.

And the final toy I want to get my hands on comes from NECA. It's the recently revealed Gears 3 Elite Theron. The Gears figures aren't great on articulation, but I love Gears and I like having the toys. This guy will fit in just nice with the rest of the Locust Horde.

So there we are fellow toy collectors. I really did want to hit SDCC again, but it appears that won't be happening. You might have an idea of how geeked I'd be if I could still go and managed to grab all of these. It looks as if I may have to pay attention to HasbroToyShop.com after the con is over. I already have low expectations because I know there will be a mad rush for these and there will undoubtedly be issues with their website from the traffic. As for the Elite Theron, I have no idea. Ebay will likely be my only option for him. I'll figure out something.

What do you think of these? Would any of them have a place in your collection? Let me know. Happy toy hunting.